:: Netwoman ::

:: Saturday, June 30, 2007 ::

Serious Games

Who Says Video Games Have to be Fun? The Rise of Serious Games
Bryan Ochalla - Gamasutra

"games are really good at putting people in the shoes of someone else—something you can't always do with something like a news article. Games can empower people to interact with an environment, and they can contextualize events in time."

Seggerman agrees. "Games can help people put themselves in perspectives otherwise unavailable to them. They can let people exhibit behaviors or try roles they've never tried before."

Likewise, she says, "games are fantastic at allowing players to explore complex, interrelated issues and fiddle with those issues to see how they affect each other." Global conflicts and even environmental issues are especially worthwhile topics for serious games, Seggerman adds, "because you can't really look at one aspect of global warming, for instance, without looking at a myriad of other aspects."

:: Netwoman 4:45 PM [+] ::
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The cusp of a new era in entertainment

Games to Become Dominant Form of Entertainment

"Within 10-15 years, we'll be moving into a situation where it's all 'games,' I think, and movies as we know them will become less populist and more specialized, in the way that theater, opera and poetry have become in the past."

Morrison believes that the online interactive experience is likely to be the dominant entertainment form of the next century. He imagines it won't be long before we look back with wonder at the idea we used to pay some people so much money to pretend to be other people for our entertainment.

:: Netwoman 4:40 PM [+] ::
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How To Keep Hostile Jerks From Taking Over Your Online Community

Article by By Cory Doctorow - offers some suggestions on how to deal with destructive people in your online community. Interesting article with some useful suggestions, but they don't always apply and doesn't really address certain contextual flamers or trollers with respect to women's online communities. For example, his example about calling and confronting them in physical spaces is neither safe nor wise for women.

The Internet Tough Guy is a feature in all Internet social forums. These are people who poison discussions with anger, hatred, and threats. Some are malicious. Some are crazy. Some are just afflicted with a rotten sense of humor. Whatever their motives, they're a scourge. It takes precious little trolling to sour a message-board. A "troll" -- someone who comes onto an online community looking to pick fights -- has two victory conditions: Either everyone ends up talking about him, or no one talks at all. And where two or more trolls gather, they'll egg each other on, seeing who can anger and disrupt the regular message-board posters the most.

:: Netwoman 4:17 PM [+] ::
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Tech's Gender Gap Widened by Uninviting Workplace

By Deborah Perelman

For years, word has circulated of a significant gender gap in the technology workplace, where women are greatly outnumbered by men.

The blame is typically placed on low interest on the part of women to pursue computers and engineering, but the actual experience of women working in technology is rarely addressed. A report released May 14 stands to shift this perception by drawing attention to the fact that tech workplaces may not be the most favorable environments for women to work in.

The vast majority of women working in the field of technology enjoy their jobs, finds the "Women in Technology 2007" report published by WITI (Women in Technology International), a trade association, and Compel, a management consulting and research firm. Of the survey's nearly 2,000 female respondents, 75 percent said that they would encourage other women to pursue similar interests.

Yet, female tech workers have mixed feelings about their companies' climates, with only 52 percent believing that their organizations offer a favorable one for women.

:: Netwoman 4:15 PM [+] ::
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Some things to Read - Women & Gaming

Here are some snips from my blogroll, and interesting reads...

Characters Done Right: Midna, a feminist hero:

Midna is an example of how a princess-in-peril can work as a plotline while that princess is the biggest player, the most active agent, of all parties involved. She's not an invisible force in a tower somewhere, she's with Link on her entire journey and the player utilizes her own powers as much as she uses Link's.

Am I the only one bothered by this?

It's not that I want to crucify the article, or make it out like there's nothing good in it. It took down the harmful stereotypes that the NYT — a supposedly professional publication — put out there. Buchanan didn’t shy away from using the "s" word. His words, in general, showed a respect for women that is absent in most mainstream sites for geeks. I appreciate this, really, I do.

But it's not enough to just criticize the sexism in others; you have to be aware of where it applies to yourself and the places that you work for. You need to fight it, and fight against it when you see it. Because otherwise it’s just one step forward and two steps back. And I, for one, am tired of being constantly pushed back by shit like this.

Gender Issues in Gaming

What is it about gaming that conjures up images of a male dominated world? Besides the fact of course, that it is a male dominated world? No, I don't mean that in a misogynistic way because I don’t think that there is some mass conspiracy to keep women out of the industry because everyone within the industry hates women.

:: Netwoman 1:05 AM [+] ::
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Wanted: Girls who make video games!

By Kristin Kalning
Games editor
MSNBC

...But even though Bradshaw is a big shot in the game industry, she's still a minority in a sea of guys. While exact numbers are difficult to chase down, the International Game Developers Association estimated that just under 12 percent of the game workforce is made up of women.

If you think those stats mirror the percentage of gamers that are female, think again. Women gamers comprise 38 percent of all players, says the Entertainment Software Association. And women make up 42 percent of all online gamers, according to a recent study from the NPD Group.

'Games are redefining themselves'
“Women are playing games now, in part because computers are much more part of our lives,” says Bradshaw. "Games are redefining themselves."

:: Netwoman 12:40 AM [+] ::
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DigiGirlz High Technology Camps

Microsoft is proud to offer technology programs that target youth. One of our signature programs, DigiGirlz High Tech Camp for girls, works to dispel stereotypes of the high-tech industry. We continue to look for opportunities to give young people a chance to experience firsthand what it is like to develop cutting-edge technology.

DigiGirlz High Tech Camp

DigiGirlz High Tech Camp is a technology camp for girls. Its goal is to educate and inspire girls by introducing them to the considerable opportunities and career choices available in the high-tech industry.

During the camp, the girls are exposed to executive speakers, technology tours and demonstrations, networking, and hands-on learning workshops. Started in 2000, the camp continues to grow and evolve.

:: Netwoman 12:45 AM [+] ::
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Women = Fresh Insights in Gaming

New article from Computer World about the need for women in the gaming industry...

Computer game industry looks to women for fresh insights
Mary K. Pratt

"If we want to have [game] titles that reach a diverse audience, our workforce has to reflect that diversity," says Sheri Graner Ray, a game designer and developer at Sirenia Consulting in Austin and chairwoman of the steering committee of the nonprofit Women in Games International (WIGI).

The push for more female workers translates into opportunities for technologists who can bring new perspectives and story ideas to the games market, industry executives say.

It's an interesting article with some valid points, and while I agree that we need more female game developers we also have to be careful in assuming that women will create games women want to play (it's like assuming that female politicians will fight for women's rights see Margaret Thatcher!). We also have to be careful in assuming that a few female game developers will represent the diverse interests of women.

:: Netwoman 2:39 AM [+] ::
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Lara Croft Returns - Tomb Raider: Anniversary

Back to the future for Lara Croft:

Tomb Raider's Lara Croft is one of the most enduring figures in video game history. To mark the start of her second decade, publisher Eidos is releasing a "re-working" of the original game.

Yeehaw!

I'm in Redmond, WA working at Microsoft in the Community Technologies Research Group with Marc Smith. This summer I'll be looking at online gaming communities among numerous other cool things with the Games User Research at Microsoft Game Studios. I didn't bring the Playstation 2 with me, only my son's Xbox 360 - so I will have to buy the PC version, but I can't wait! Lara rocks!

In other news, check out 'Cerise, a project of The Iris Network, (who) recently launched with its May 2007 issue. Its goal is to be a semi-scholarly publication for articles that address the intersection of gender and gaming, encompassing video games, board games, and role playing games' (from MB)

:: Netwoman 12:03 AM [+] ::
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Is Blogging Dead? It's so Web 2.0...

This is a question I've been asking myself for the last month or so, especially since I haven't really been blogging much. It's not that there's nothing to blog about - because there's always something blogable. It's because there are so many other things that have kept me busy, and I mean besides researching, teaching or even that daunting pesky task of writing my Thesis. Oh yes that.

Blogging is so Web 2.0, just ask Tom O'Reilly, who talks about social networking via the web with tools such as facebook, friendster and so forth.

Is Web 2.0 dead?

Not entirely, but it certainly wasn't what it was. I went through a phase where all I wanted to do was flickr - but I blogged by Flickr, which in some ways to me was redundant - I should be able to do both in one place. I certainly went throught the Orkut, Friendster etc phase - but it didn't keep me engaged and interested. I wasn't really gaining much from the web application and was tired of the 'will you be my friend?' from people I had never met. In short, the software didn't really allow networks to gain anything from each other online (except a long friend's list) - no virtual reciprocity = loss of interest.

I spent considerable time in the last year on Second Life learning the ways of virtual environments, exploring venues for Higher Education in Virtual Worlds. It was/is a great experience, despite the ridiculous moral panic and hype surrounding virtual communities right now. ugh. I still think SL has much to offer, despite numerous bugs each week and issues of usability and retention for newbies. Virtual environments are the next wave, whether you want to believe it or not - and you can try and police it all you like - it's still hot.

But the point here is that VR/SL is not Web 2.0 - we've clearly moved into a different phase of internet growth - web 3.0 – participatory, interactive, co-creative internet(s), in produced & shared spaces. The way we use the web has changed (and where we use it as well – mobility), and in some ways – we’ve fallen down the rabbit hole – or stepped through the wardrobe to a new way of using and experiencing the internet – thru virtual reality such as second life (and we saw early indicators in Active Worlds, CyberNet Worlds and so forth. This is not a game, it's an experience and for some, as 'real' as first life. So for me, I don't see what we are doing here as 2.0. SL isn't a social networking site like myspace, facebook and so forth, it's something much more than that.

Two things about that comment - I've become addicted to Facebook - and use it frequently, especially with the numerous applications it offers; I can add my flickr, I can update people on what I am doing (like twitter) and where I am doing it, I can share my interest in movies and music and much more. So, Facebook has become much more interactive and participatory. It's fun, and the crazy thing is that so many of my different networks are all together in one hub - some get to see the back stage of me that they haven't before...it's an interesting space.

The next point is something I just stumbled on SLeuth 3D - a social networking site for Second Life:

Looking for more from the Second Life social scene? Then welcome to Sleuth, the next generation of avatar networking! Tap into the digital tomorrow with an intriguing new database designed to help you connect with the virtual crowd.

Ok, so maybe the distinction between 1.0 - 2.0 - 3.0 is not as clear cut as we think. We build on the past, and the internet of past days still has some value....

The point of all this was to determine whether blogging (for me) is dead. Perhaps not, but it is certainly in competition with other web apps that keep me interested and entertained. I have long pondered a hub of all my web apps and networking sites primarily for time saving. In short, I need to think about the place of blogging in my everyday life and whether Blogger can keep up with me.

:: Netwoman 9:37 PM [+] ::
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